


NFL

by DracoGinny5ever



Category: Cam Newton - Fandom, Carolina Panthers - Fandom, Luke Kuechly - Fandom, NFL - Fandom, National Football League RPF
Genre: Drama, Humor, M/M, Magic, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 06:56:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1419002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoGinny5ever/pseuds/DracoGinny5ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Dark Wizard.  A secret and powerful curse.  Now Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly must team up to figure out why the most talented team in the NFL has never won a championship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	NFL

A vacation in the Hawaiian sun is a great cure for many ailments. Depression.   Respiratory infections. General loneliness. Sometimes even the crushing pain of having the goal that meant most to you slip through your fingers.

It was in this vein that the great powers of the NFL had, many years ago, decided to host the Pro-Bowl tournament in Hawaii. A lovely symbol of appreciation to the athletes who had almost made it to the Super Bowl. Perhaps even a sincere reminder that they were so, so good.

But not good enough.

The worst part of it all was arriving back in your hometown and having to face cold reality after days of continuous, seventy degree sunlight. Having to face the too sympathetic reactions of closest family and friends. Having to endure cheery cries of “maybe next year!” from drunken fans. Having to pick a team and pretend to be excited about the upcoming Super Bowl, knowing you would, once again, not be a participant.

The whole routine was heartbreaking. So draining, in fact, that it had nearly devastated Luke Kuechly last year. Granted, he was no Pro Bowl candidate then, and the Panthers weren’t really expected to go very far.  But it had still stung nonetheless. He had attributed their losses and ultimate lack of playoff games to them being a young team learning how to work together, and to him being a rookie. Next year, he told himself, they would be cohesive and undefeatable. Next year would be different.  

But the 2013 season had come and gone, and he still had no Super Bowl ring to show for it. And what made it so infuriating was that, for once, the Panthers had actually been _favorites_ to go all the way. They had talked a mean talk, and played a mean game to go along with it, earning them such a winning record that the whole nation looked to them to deliver something big.

And it was all lost in an instant. One horrible game and one embarrassing defeat, to the San Francisco 49ers, no less. Luke had never wanted to punch a quarterback in the face so badly, but the smug, taunting look that Colin Kaepernick kept giving him was enough to make his blood boil.

And despite his rage, which in other games might have motivated him, he had never played worse in his career. Not even in college. It was strange, really, looking back on it. How the 49ers had been able to trick him out so easily, making him think the ball was on the opposite side of the field, sending him on useless treks in the wrong direction. Even thinking about it made his memory hazy, and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the odd, fuzzy way his head had felt during that game. Another annoyance that had added to his poor performance in the unlucky game, no doubt, but nothing more than that.

Or so he thought.

Still, there was no use dwelling on the past, and Luke knew this better than anyone. In the winter that had followed the Pro Bowl, and the unending bad weather that had persisted since that embarrassing Super Bowl, Luke had found himself inside a lot, thinking about this past season. Reminiscing about the good moments and, more often than not, wishing that he could have done better. It was hard to pull himself out of this parasitic way of thinking, but sometimes even the worst moments of deep self doubt can be kept at bay by a bit of sunlight.

It wasn’t yet as dazzling in North Carolina as it had been in Hawaii, but it was the first week of April and Luke found himself feeling upbeat and cheerier now that there was finally some nicer weather in his life. He had had all winter to drown in self pity over his less than stellar performance towards the end of the season, but he refused to take his crappy attitude with him into the Spring. He had emerged from an emotionally challenging past few months as if awakening for the first time; stronger, better able to handle his defeats. More willing to learn from his mistakes instead of dwelling on them.

It was a much welcomed change.

And on days when even the sunny weather didn’t cheer him up, he had something surefire that did. It didn’t happen often, as coordinating the schedules between two professional athletes was a tricky business, but whenever he and Cam Newton could find the time to work out together, it was like an unexpected breath of fresh air that he looked forward to more than almost anything else. He hadn’t made any plans with Cam for the past couple weeks, and so when his phone buzzed with the infrequent sound of a text message that morning, he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

But his luck had been picking up as of late, and this morning was no exception. It was Cam.

“Hey man, been a while. I’m going to the gym, you ready to come with?”

He smiled to himself. As if Cam needed to ask that question. He always was.

“See you in 10.”

Luke couldn’t remember the last time four words had made him so happy.  He went to his closet and got out his gym bag that he had already packed in anticipation of such an occasion and threw it over his enormous shoulders.  He banished the lingering, upsetting thoughts of the 49ers and of Colin Kaepernick, remembering that ultimately he did not need them.  And it wasn't hard to do now that he had something to look forward to.  He left his apartment and locked the door behind him, a bubble of happiness welling steadily up inside him as he walked, perhaps with more haste than necessary, to see his teammate.  


End file.
